A Fresh New Start on Life
by Mega Buimuzard Y
Summary: Kaloi, a young man fresh out of school and ready to take on life in the real human world when his life becomes forever changed and he wakes up in a whole other world. So much for a trip to see his sister after graduation. Rated T for swearing, but is subject to change.
1. When One Life Ends, Another Begins

Disclaimer: Pokémon belongs to Game Freak, The Pokémon Company, Nintendo, and it's other copyright holders. Only the plot and the main OC character, Kaloi, are mine.

* * *

It's a beautiful day, or so i'm told. But do i really have a place in it? That's the question I have asked myself every day since i've moved to this godforsaken town. It's been eight whole years since that day and the only thing i've come close to calling a "friend" is my 3DS and the creatures called Pocket Monsters. Pokémon for short. The device bounces in the pocket of my dark blue jeans as i trudge along the path to school.

Before I go any further here, you should probably know that my name is Kaloi Neurengard Catalaya. It's super odd, but I like it's uniqueness despite the fact that people like to call me "Kallie" or "Katty." Personally, I would rather be called "Alloy." Anyways, I'm a warm-blooded, reclusive male that stands at a nice six feet tall; however, i'm a bit of a beanpole, since i'm quite skinny and I don't have much by way of muscle or mass. I'm 19 years old and I'm almost done with the hell that is high school. I'm also easily recognizable due to the fact that I'm always wearing some sort of light jacket, my auburn hair - that is obviously dyed from a dark brown - is always kept in a neat ponytail, and a gleaming stud earring in each earlobe: Red on the right and blue on the left. They're to go with my eyes to complete the elemental triangle as mine are green as the grass. Though it's hard to tell, since my glasses kind of hide that fact; although, it could also be due to the fact that I never really look people in the eye. Hard to tell.

I let out a yawn as i push in the doors to the school and head to the office. Thankfully, i had gone into the Post-Seconday program that exists here and am able to take college courses in place of regular classes so i get to come in late and leave early. Now normally I don't really interact with the people here at my school too much, be they students or faculty, but today I actually chatted with the office staff before I walked over to the Choir room. I had reason to be happy today. Once the day was over, we were officially done with school until graduation day. Then after that the special plans kicked in.

What those plans were, i had yet to be told. All i knew was that it involved a plane ride, which was something that I had never before experienced, but yet had always wanted to do. So as the minutes, then the hours, then the days slowly dragged on by, I got more and more excited, but the nervousness also grew. I was diving off into the unknown. I had packed all of my necessities and my "necessities," aka my handheld video games that i would be playing on my trip when I had the time to do so.

I stood at the gate, waiting for my flight to be called when my parents walked up to say their goodbyes.

"You have fun now, Kaloi." My mom said with a smile. "Be nice to your sister and try not to give her too much grief."

My jaw dropped. I was going to see my sister? "Whoa, whoa whoa! Hold up!" I sputter in disbelief. "I'm going to see Nanami?! Why didn't you tell me?"

"It would have ruined the surprise." Dad chuckled in response. "Besides, Nami didn't want us to tell you even now. Though now you had smother her even more with your built-up excitement."

"Oooh definitely! This is going to be the best vacation ever!" I fist pumped the air. "Score!"

There was a ding after that and a voice over the intercom stated that my flight was now beginning to board, so i rushed over to the entrance after throwing a quick hug on my parents so i could get on as soon as humanly possible. Some people glared at me like i was some unruly child with ADHD problems and i was off my meds or something, but at that moment i didn't care at all. Normally i would have challenged them or returned their glares with my own or just muttered to myself about how asshole-ish they were being, but it didn't matter as we were soon loaded onto the plane and getting ready to taxi onto the runway. I decided on the aisle seat, since the plane apparently only had two rows of seats on each side, and also because the guy who was to sit next to me asked for the window. I preferred to have the aisle seat anyways, as the lighting was more preferable for gameplay.

I grabbed my 3DS from my carry-on and made sure that it was on airplane mode, so as to not screw over anything communication-wise from the plane to the watchtower and whatnot before putting it into my jacket pocket. I couldn't have it out and running while the pilot did the takeoff procedures. A beep sounded as the pilot introduced himself over the intercom and there were clicking noises all around as the rest of the passengers and I buckled our seat belts in accordance to the sign that had lit. Takeoff only took a few minutes, and when it was over, I pulled my gaming device from my pocket and powered it up to play probably my _favorite_ game out of the entirety of the series it was from: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky.

I had just completely wiped my game to start fresh, having beaten it as a Riolu with my Charmander partner, and i wanted to play again through the story. I took my time through the quiz, carefully considering each question and the possible answers i could give. At the end, it "read my aura" and gave me the answer of orange. Then it quickly rattled all the numbers in it's processor and spat out a result i never actually expected: Cyndaquil.

Now don't get me wrong here, I love that little Fire Mouse Pokémon to death, seeing it is my favorite of the Generation II Johto Starters (or Generation IV depending on whether we're talking the original Gold, Silver, Crystal for the Game Boy Color or the HeartGold and SoulSilver DS remakes), but it was just not a result i expected to get. But hey, what the hell, right? Gotta pick my partner now. Riolu? Nah, just basically did that. Pikachu? Cliché. Meowth or Munchlax? Bo-ring! Then my eye caught onto Shinx. That would work quite well. It's different from Pikachu and has, for some unknown reason, a unique feel to it even though everyone else has probably played the combo to death and back. So with a grin on my face, I selected Shinx, christened it "Magnalu," and off we went.

Nostalgia flooded my veins as I watched the beginning cutscenes, though feelings of sadness echoed through as well just knowing the reasons why and what was yet to come. Then the whole tutorial dungeon and kicking the hell out of Koffing and Zubat to get back the Relic Fragment had me so engrossed that i didn't notice that the sky turned black with a storm that had popped up. That whole world held inside that small cartridge held my entire attention. I had even brought a set of headphones to immerse myself in the music.

Of course, something else was happening at the same time that I was oblivious to. Someone had gotten up and pulled a knife on one of the attendants and forced them to let them into the cockpit. He had apparently just pulled out a gun when the plane suddenly lurched from storm turbulence, naturally causing him to fall back and clench his hand, thereby squeezing the trigger.. The weapon went off and the bullet put a hole in a window, causing rapid depressurization. I had looked up after the lurch to find out what was going on when i saw the commotion. Hastily closing my game, i grabbed onto the oxygen mask that dropped in front of my face and put it on before rebuckeling and preparing for an impact i hoped wouldn't arrive. The screams of terror from the other passengers and the loud crying of the couple babies I had seen were deafening. The man surged up with a roar after the pilot stabilized the plane's path and leveled it out and threw his knife at the pilot's head. If there hadn't been any screaming, a dull thud would have been heard as the knife struck home, making the pilot slump dead in his seat and pushing the wheel up and forward to send the plane into a nosedive. The screaming intensified as the trainee copilot, who knew what to do to fix the problem, was seemingly too terrified to do anything. A few terrifyingly slow intense minutes later, everything went black, though not before the sound of shredding steel coursed through my ears and heat filled my face.

After a moment, a soft glow of light shone above me and i could hear some sort of commotion. Nothing at all like what I last remembered. Curious, i opened my clenched eyes to find myself in a cabin of sorts like you would see on a cruise ship, or rather, the cruise ship set they used to film the TV show _The Love Boat._

"What in the hell...?" I ponder aloud as i sit up in the bed i was in. My clothes were still intact and everything was as if I was still alive. My face didn't even feel burned when I reached up to check. _"Did I survive the plane crash?"_ I thought to myself.

"If youse is wondering what's goin' on sirrah," a weirdly accented voice softly said. "Youse best be a-followin' me."

There was an old man with a walking stick waiting at a door after I whipped around to see who was talking. He was dressed all in white and had a stern countenance. He did put off a feeling that he was not to be disobeyed however, so I quickly stood up and followed him onto the main deck. Suprisingly, there were hundreds of people here, probably thousands! I opened my mouth to speak, but found that I couldn't do so. The old man gave me a look that begot silence anyways, so i continued to follow him until he stopped at a particular gangplank on the starboard side of the ship.

"Now then, sirrah, youse best be goin' down thissun." The old man spoke. "Cap's done n' pushhad the order 'e 'as." Before I could step foot on the gangplank, his entire demenor changed as he stood straighter than ever. He smiled, revealing some broken and missing teeth, but there was a kindness that wasn't there before. And he spoke again, this time without an accent.

"Young Kaloi, this ship is meerly a gateway, if you will. From the world you call home to others. Some would call this reincarnation. You have a chance of a lifetime here as you are being offered a second chance. Each gangplank leads to a different path, with most choosing just to move on to the next life in heaven, but I have a feeling you'll prefer this one here. It is ultimately your choice."

At this address, i finally found the ability to speak: "Wh-who are you?"

The old gentleman simply smiled back and stayed silent before slouching a bit and resuming his stern visage. It was then that I knew that whoever it was that I had spoken to was nothing like I had ever known, but yet had a familiarity all the same. I simply nodded to the man and stepped onto the gangplank, and before i took my fourh step down, darkness enveloped me once again.

* * *

The wind that gently blew across my face was my wakeup call, but someone was shaking me and telling me to wake up.

"Hey, c'mon guy, wake up!"

_"Who...? Who's there...?"_

"Ya can't stay here and lay around all day y'know!"

_"Hmm...whoever that is, they're right. I'll never find out anything if I don't get up."_

I opened my eyes slightly, before squeezing them shut again for a moment. That sunlight was blinding! A shadow suddenly blocked out the light and I opened my eyes again to come face-to-face with something i knew, but had only ever seen in dreams: a freaking _Shinx._


	2. Magnalu's Teammates

"Sooo...uhh...you gonna lay there and stare at me?" The Shinx asked.

With a grunt, i rolled out from underneath the feline and stood up, though I felt a little wobbly and woozy. I looked around to get my bearings, but nothing at all looked remotely familiar. There was nothing around but some rocks and a couple gnarled, old trees that were mostly bare with just a few leaves left. I had done a full three hundred sixty degree turn before something dawned on me: the Shinx was the one that spoke to me. That couldn't have been right, but since I had just looked all the way around, there was no other way it could be.

"Uhh...You're acting kinda weird there buddy." The Shinx said, effectively snapping out of my stupor.

"Kaloi" I said, not looking at the Pokémon. Something about the Flash Pokémon unnerved me.

"Huh?"

"My name. It's Kaloi."

"Oh! It's nice to meet you Kaloi! I'm Magnalu!" That introduction caught my attention. I somehow knew that name. I was sure of it. But it was the same sort of knowing that I had for my own name. Something was definitely off, but I couldn't place it. Well, aside from the obvious that was. I mean, here I am - a human - talking to a Shinx of all things. "Y'know, it isn't too often that we see Cyndaquil around here. In fact the only Ty-"

"Wait a second," I interrupted. "Cyndaquil?"

"Yeeeeeaaaah? Isn't that what you are? Or are you trying to say that you're some sorta runt Quilava?"

"Neither. I'm human."

That admission seemed to startle Magnalu as he suddenly backpedaled and hid behind a small boulder. "Human!?" B-But all I see is a C-Cyndaquil! If this is a joke then you're a meanie!"

Shame burns through my body as I look at the ground. Apparently humans are a bad thing here wherever I am. Being a Cyndaquil, or rather a Pokémon in general makes a lot of sense though as I don't think I would be able to understand Pokémon as a human. Just what the heck is going on?

A prodding at my side rips me from my thoughts. "You must of been messing with me. You're definitely a Cyndaquil." Magnalu said with a frown before sighing and pushing me along a path. I eventually started moving along it of my own accord and we came to a small creek. "There ya go. Take a look if you don't believe your ears."

I looked into the river and gasped. Sure enough, my reflection revealed that I was a Cyndaquil. _"What happened to me? Why am I a Cyndaquil?" _I thought coherently before they started running wild with theories as to what had happened. But then I stopped and sat down, still staring at my reflection in the river. Nothing was coming back to me. I couldn't find any memories for anything before I woke up here aside from my name, Magnalu's name, and the fact that used to be human.

"I don't even know what's going on anymore." I said, finally. "I'm...I'm just so confused."

"You must have some sort of amnesia then. It would make sense considering I found you conked out there on the plains."

"Is there anywhere I can go to get my bearings?"

"I'm glad you asked! Buuuut I gotta ask my partners first. I'll call them over, though you might want to cover your eyes." Magnalu then backed off and started rummaging in a satchel that I hadn't noticed before. He pulled out some sort of sphere that had a shimmery glow around it. I was about to ask what he was going to do, but he let out a small, but rather cute roar that honestly should've been classified more as a growl before lift the sphere in both forepaws and smashing it against the ground. A brilliant, blinding light coursed through the area, dazzling me while simultaneously revealing our position to anyone watching. I groaned and flopped onto my side as spots and stars danced across my vision.

"Sorry about that, but I did warn you." Magnalu said as he padded back over to me and gently patted my side. His ear twitched as fast footsteps approached. I got back onto my feet and looked in one of the directions that the sound of feet were coming from, shifting nervously. Though I couldn't remember how I acted as a human, I actually felt rather timid. Out of three different directions came three different Pokémon: a Grovyle, a Riolu, and a Rockruff.

"Magnalu, are you all right?" The Rockruff barked, shooting a glare at me. If first impressions are anything to go by, that Pokémon and I are not going to be friends anytime soon. I simply tucked myself behind Magnalu before shooting the Rockruff a glare of my own, of course that was before practically jumping out of my skin in fright when a paw poked my back, causing me to yelp and spin around rapidly to come face to face with the Riolu. The pup giggled at my reaction before tackle-glomping me right into the dirt, thankfully taking care that I didn't fall into the water.

"And who might you be?" The Riolu questioned cheerfully. I get the feeling that he's gonna be fun to play with considering the energy that he just exudes, though that sort of personality has to wear on everyone in tense situations. It wasn't long before the Riolu was removed from my person by the Grovyle and I was allowed to stand again.

"My apologies for that. But let's let Magnalu answer one question at a time first." The Grovyle said calmly, patting the Riolu gently before setting him down.

Magnalu bounced in place for a moment before launching into his story.

"So after we split here last time, I ran down my path and took down a couple of Normal and Dark Rattata that tried to get in my way. That eventually came to a dead end though, so I turned around and slowly worked my way back here, hoping for some sign of that Fire-Type Buneary that was sighted. Unfortunately on that front I came up empty, sorry about that. But anyways, I came back here and this little guy -(_Little?! You're not so big yourself there kitty!)-_was passed out on the ground over to the right of here.

"Naturally, I woke him up to make sure that he was okay. I found out his name and everything! He apparently has some pretty bad memory issues though because he thought that he was a human instead of a Cyndaquil. Freaked me out pretty good for sure until I realized that he was joking."

The Grovyle ran his claws down his face with a sigh. Apparently between the Riolu and Magnalu, his patience was very tested. Though I still felt the glare of the Rockruff on me, I stepped up. "My name is Kaloi - Kaloi Neurengard Catalaya. Uhh….Alloy for short." I gulped, trying to swallow my nervousness. "What Magnalu says is true. I don't remember a single iota of my past; however, I at least remember my name and the fact that I used to be human. Though why I changed to a Cyndaquil, I couldn't tell you."

"Human, huh?" The Rockruff growled, stalking toward me with fangs bared. "I knew there was a reason I didn't like you."

"Quartz, that's enough!" The Grovyle snapped.

"But Night-!" The Rockruff began to retort.

"ENOUGH! What we see before us is a lone, lost, Cyndaquil with no memory and therefore no ability to defend himself. As a Exploration Team, we are duty-bound to help him, regardless of what his past may or may not have been. I'm not about to have my team's good reputation that Derritus and I have put good, hard work into raising to our Bronze Rank squashed by feelings based on unfounded premises." Silence ruled over the clearing, save for the babbling of the brook next to them. That is, until the Grovyle turned back to me with a small smile that I'm sure was more meant to calm me, though born of exasperation as it was. "I apologize for Quartz' behavior, Kaloi. He's just overly protective of our small Team. My name is Nightshade, though most just refer to me simply as 'Night.' The Rockruff there is, of course, Quartz, and the Riolu that tackled you there is Derritus, or Derry if you would prefer. He mainly mauls with affection. And then you've already met Magnalu, he's easy to figure out since you've already seen what he's like."

"I-It's great to meet-" I started to say before I was interrupted by Magnalu, who jumped into the space between me and Night.

"Oh that's right! I almost forgot why I called you guys over!" He yowled, eyes wide in disbelief at himself, or at least that's what it seemed like at the moment. For all I knew it happened all the time. "Alloy has no place to stay and was wondering if he could stay with us until he gets back on his feet!"

Night nodded at this and pulled a sphere out of his own satchel. Surprised, I looked each of them over and saw that they all had a similar bag. I must be really unobservant to miss such a blatantly obvious piece of equipment upon them. Of course, I could still be in shock over this whole thing...yeah, let's go with that. I may be timid, but I'm not about to show any unnecessary signs of weakness if I don't have to.

"This, to explain to Kaloi, is an Escape Orb. Exploration Teams like ourselves use them to leave the various Mystery Dungeons when we no longer wish to continue exploring them, if we find a piece of treasure we don't want to risk losing in the dungeon, or if we're in danger and need to flee for our own safety." Night explained spinning the Orb in his palm. "Stay close to one of us so you get teleported out as well, seeing as how you don't have an Exploration Badge or your own Escape Orb."

With a firm nod of affirmation, I stepped next to Magnalu, noting that we were the same height as I placed my paw on his side. That earned me a friendly grin as Night raised the Orb high above his head, the mysterious glow around it suddenly spiraling outward before dispelling. A dizzying feeling came over me right before I felt a jerking feeling in my sinuses and the landscape suddenly shifted. Gone away were the creek, rocks, and sparse trees. Now in front of me is a well-kept building with a cobblestone path leading to it. Flowers bloomed on each side of the entrance and hedges that were about five feet tall grew around the perimeter of the property. The building itself looked like praying hands, but when I looked close, I saw that it was actually a Treecko paw and a Riolu paw coming together in a bond of friendship. The whole of it was built into the base of a cliff with a small waterfall pouring into a small waterwheel, which turned and emptied into the building. Out of the left side, water flowed out of a channel where it went and eventually met back with its source.

"Holy crap..." I breathed, taken aback by the sight.

"Beautiful place we have, isn't it?" Magnalu purred.

"Well, let's not keep our guest out here! Let's go!" Derry exclaimed, rocketing forward. "Besides, he still has to meet the last member of our team!"

Night chuckled before beckoning everyone to follow him as he also made his way to the entrance. "Derry's right. Let's go home."

I let everyone else go a few paces ahead before following, a frown on my face despite the peaceful feeling that I had. "Home..." I muttered to myself, trying to go back into my mind to find something to place the feeling with, only to find nothing but blackness.


	3. A Time to Learn

Upon following everyone through the entrance to their home, I couldn't help but freeze in place. If I had thought that the outside was amazing, the inside was even better, and this was only the first room! A big trough of water made its way down the ceiling and came to a small pool on the left where it exited the building via a small channel with a gate on it. Surrounding the pool was a bunch of what appeared to be toys, including a couple jungle gyms and some slides. On the right side was a more serious-looking area. Two boards hung on the wall plastered with papers, some with pictures, and most without. A table stood in the middle of the boards with a whole other stack of papers. There was a door straight ahead, but more on the right-hand side, which was where I assumed the sleeping quarters were. Another one stood on the left-hand side; although, i couldn't discern its purpose.

"Hey Uly! We're back!" Magnalu called, scrambling over to the right-side door. "Quit napping and get out here!" Welp, so much for that assumption. But instead of the door opening, there was a splash from the pool. A figure shot out of the water and did a backflip before landing and running over to Night and the others. I hurried over to see Derry happily hugging a Buizel before Night walked up and patted the Pokémon on the head.

"Alloy, this is the final member of our team: Ulysses." Magnalu meowed, bounding over from the door. This gained the Buizel's attention and suddenly i had the newly introduced Ulysses peering in my face, causing me to shift nervously on my feet. Then a broad smile broke out on Uly's face and he stuck out his paw in greeting, which I shook so as to not be rude. It was a bit awkward since he was double my size, but we made it work.

"Just so you know, Uly's actually mute." Night said. "It makes missions a pain sometimes, but we work around it the best that we can."

"Missions?" I asked tentatively. "I'm not quite sure I've been following very well..."

"Oh Arceus, I forgot that you can't remember anything." He apologized. "The five of us form a group known as an Exploration Team. Exploration Teams go out to Mystery Dungeons - areas that consistently change - either to look for treasure, recruit other Pokémon, forage for items not found in shops, and fulfill missions of various nature. They can range anywhere from delivering a particular item to a Pokémon to capturing a wanted Pokémon. No matter what, you always have to be on your guard because all Mystery Dungeons are dangerous."

I nodded in understanding, as it did all make sense...to a degree anyways. Maybe at some point I could join them on a mission, preferably a low level one, to get a sense of what they were all about. Although I hoped that I would figure out how to defend myself before then. I didn't want to be any sort of burden. After that explanation, we all went through the right-side door, and everyone filtered through to their own rooms. Being left to my own devices, i looked through the empty rooms until I decided on one that was across from Ulysses' room.

It was a simple, bare space with a bed of leaves in the center. It was probably bare since there wasn't anyone sleeping in it long enough to put any personal touches to it, provided that there was anyone sleeping there at all. However, it exuded a nice calming feeling that one could only call peaceful. I took a deep breath, letting that feeling wash over me before exhaling with a deep sigh and walking to the bed. I then burrowed under the leaves and nestled myself in the approximate center before closing my eyes and letting sleep overtake me.

All too soon, or so it felt, I was shaken awake yet again. Groggily and with a groan, i stood up and wiped the sleep from my eyes.

"Where's the fire?" I yawned before looking at who was in front of me. Ulysses stood there tapping his foot giving me a look that just challenged me to try going back to sleep. He then turned around and beckoned me to follow before leaving the room. I started to follow before stopping to look back at my bed, giving it a longing stare since i felt wiped. Just then I was soaked from behind by a blast of water, instantly waking me up. But while waking me up, it also stung like hell. Now i knew the pain of a super-effective attack, however low in power it was. Because if that felt like a kick to the balls, then something like that without the user holding back would just absolutely suck. So not wanting to get drenched further, I quickly whipped around and followed Ulysses out to the main room where everyone was gathered. I noticed that the Buizel had a smug smirk on his face, the jerk.

"Ah! Our guest decides to join the land of the living!" Magnalu joked, bringing attention to our arrival. Everyone seemed to chuckle as I ducked my head in embarrassment. I quickly shook myself free of any remaining water as I straightened myself.

"So what's the plan for today?" I asked curiously. It didn't seem like they were prepped for a mission, but then again, what did I know?

"We decided to take a day off from doing any missions to help you learn how to defend yourself." Night explained. "It wouldn't do to have you wander around without knowing how to fight, so we're all going to go into Junction Village to the Hitmon Gym."

"The Hitmon Gym?" I questioned. It was a rather odd name for something that seemed to be in a small location if "Village" was anything to go by.

"The Hitmon Gym is run by the Hitmon siblings: Kila, Noah, and Nyara. A Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee and Hitmontop respectively." Derry said. "They also have a group of Tyrogue that help run the place during the busy season"

With that bit of explanation, everyone filed their way to the exit. I followed along, not wanting to be left behind; although, i doubt that they would do that. Before we all left, i noted that everyone had gathered a number of bags. I guess that it would be a bit of a trek to get into town and that they didn't go often. It didn't take long for them to prepare, and we were soon on our way.

We followed a path away from the cliff face that went to the edge of a small forest. It wasn't super dense, but it did exude a feeling like we were being watched.

"Hey Alloy," Night called. "Come to the center of the group."

I complied but was rather confused. Why would I need to be in the center? But once I was in position and the others surrounded me, it slowly dawned on me. Since I didn't know how to fight, they were just protecting me.

"While this really isn't a Mystery Dungeon," Quartz started. "We've had some surprises going through."

"Yeah, sometimes Outlaws will attack us with the thought that we're traveling merchants cause of all of our stuff." Magnalu added, causing me to carefully look at our surroundings. I didn't like the sound of that at all.

"Guys, quit scaring him." Derry admonished, putting his paws on his hips. "Besides, that 'Outlaw' was just a Pokémon that was down on their luck and was just trying to take care of their family and those 'surprises' were just some pranks by the local kids."

Upon hearing that, I relaxed tremendously. Leave it to the joker and the one that didn't like me to make me uneasy. I heard Magnalu chuckle and Quartz just grunt as we started moving. Junction Village really must not have been that far because I could already hear the laughter of children close by and the bustle of other Pokémon moving throughout the place. After about ten minutes of walking, we came upon the village, which was actually more the size of a small town! My mouth dropped open as I gazed upon the place, prompting many laughs/chuckles from my companions depending on their respective humor levels.

I shook my head quickly from side to side in order to snap out of my reverie so i could catch up to the others, who had kept on moving into the crowd. As we went down the road, we passed by at least four restaurants, a bank, two hotels and a couple buildings that were apparently abandoned. From what I was gathering from overhearing the other Pokémon around us, there was a lot more to see yet, for Junction Village was apparently the connecting point of some places called Hiintra, Lamadd, Var, and Pyunun. Upon reaching the center of the village, we turned down another road to our right passing by a large bell tower. Just after we went past however, the bell suddenly tolled, ringing out loudly eight times. It was seriously only eight o' clock? Somewhere in the back of my mind I was grumbling about it being too early to be awake, but in the forefront of it I was flipping out due to the fact that I was not expecting that. As a result, I jumped like four feet off the ground and spun around to glare at the bell tower when I realized what it was. Of course, I was being laughed at again by the others; however, they were also laughing at each other because I guess they also had jumped at it.

At least not far away was the Gym, though it was a lone building on a side street. It was rather plain with a few windows and a simple sign out front that announced what it was in big white letters. Of course the inside was absolutely huge, being a gym and all. There were various punching bags and weights around, and there were also small sandpits for sparring off to one side. Toward the back there were some swimming pools for Water-Types to train in as well as some enclosed sandpits with large, scorched rocks that I assumed were for Fire-Types to train with.

After a minute, we were greeted by a Tyrogue, who said that one of the owners would be around to sign us in shortly. Why the Tyrogue couldn't do it, I'll never know, but it really wasn't too much of a big deal considering it wasn't long before a Hitmonchan came up to sign us in.

"Welcome to the Hitmon Gym!" The Hitmonchan greeted cheerfully. I kinda wish that i knew a long-range attack at that moment because that was too cheerful a greeting for 8AM. "Let's sign you in really quick before you get started."

"We've already got paperwork on file for Team Valarbor; however, we've brought a guest with us this time." Night told the Hitmonchan.

"A guest as well Nightshade?" Came the reply. "Alrighty then. You and your team are signed in for today. Your guest is the Cyndaquil, correct?"

"That would be correct, Kila"

"Very well then. If you would please read and place your footprint at the bottom of the page stating that you've read and agree to the terms and conditions of the Gym really quick, then we can get you started!" The Hitmonchan, Kila, grabbed a clipboard and ink pad and set them down in front of me. I was supposed to read and put my footprint on there? That seemed...inefficient, but who am I to judge. I looked at the paper and was immediately dumbfounded though. The whole thing was written in symbols that looked like footprints! I couldn't make heads nor tails of it! I looked at Night for help and he leaned over to glance at it before whispering into my ear.

"It basically says that while you are here to stick with one of us at all times and that any moves used must be performed in the sandpits or in the pool and that they reserve the right to kick you out should you harass other patrons or if you cause too big a disturbance. That sort of stuff. Lots of common sense stuff, really. Just go ahead and stamp it so we can get started." He whispered. That knowledge in hand, or paw rather, i stepped onto the ink pad and then onto the paper where it indicated. Kila took the board away, grabbed a damp towel and wiped off my foot with a smile.

"Okay, you're all set! Now go and work up a sweat!"

That rhyme made me cringe on the inside, but I did my best to not let it show as we all went down to the arena-esque sandpits. Night and Derry stepped into the center as the rest of us watched from the sidelines. In a split second the tension suddenly ramped up and the two adopted sparring poses. They watched each other for just a moment before bolting toward one another; Night's claws flashing white while Derry's paws flashed silver. A loud clash rang out as they collided, but immediately following that collision, Derry went sliding back with a scratch clear across his chest. It was rather shocking to see the ferocity that the two had gone at each other with, for the Riolu launched himself back without hesitation seemingly moving faster than before as he retaliated.

Over and over they clashed, and to my untrained eyes, it seemed as if they were taking turns. Then as I watched, I noticed that Derry's breathing was becoming labored. He had to have been getting tired; although, upon looking at Night, the Grovyle looked like he could go on all day long. But just as it seemed that Night was going to end the match with a strike from the leaves on his wrists, which were glowing a bright green, Derry snapped up from a kneeling position and gave an all-out punch right to Night's chin, sending him down to the dirt flat on his back.

Night groaned and smacked the ground twice, signaling that he was giving up. He got back to his feet, rubbing his jaw before dipping his head respectfully to Derry, who nodded in return before fist pumping the air.

"Jeez Derry, when did you learn Reversal?" The Grovyle asked as he walked out of the pit.

The Riolu giggled excitedly before replying. "Not too long ago actually, just haven't had much cause to use it until now."

"Well that explains why you were holding back and taking so many unnecessary hits." Quartz barked.

"Yep! That's definitely the case! But with that out of the way, it's time to see what our guest can do! Quartz! Kaloi! Step into the pit and give it everything you've got!" Derry replied.

_"Wait a minute! What?! Me!?!?"_ I thought nervously. Quartz didn't like me at all and I didn't think that she would hold anything back when it came to kicking my rear into next week.

"All right!" Quartz howled as she bounded into the pit. "This is going to be soooo satisfying!" That enthusiasm made me groan as I reluctantly followed after receiving a look from Uly when I looked at the others for help. Stupidly strict weasel... i had a feeling that if I tried to get out of this, I would get nailed with water again.

_"Okay then,"_ I thought. _"I should have some sort of natural fighting instinct right? So then, uhhh, body...? Brain maybe? Can you uhh...do your thing maybe so I don't get utterly destroyed?"_

Now while I was doing this, I of course wasn't paying any attention to what was happening until I was bowled over and I felt fangs sinking into my shoulder and electricity coursed through my veins. I let out a howl of pain before I was thrown off to the side. I scrambled to my feet and looked up to see a rock flying at my face. I ducked down and let it fly over my head, but I must've telegraphed what I was going to do or something because Quartz crashed into me and sent me flying back yet again.

"Come on Alloy!" Magnalu called from the sidelines. "Fight back! You can do it!"

I growled in irritation at that. I can't do anything because I don't know how! I'm supposed to be a human for goodness sake! How can a human do anything like what Pokémon can do? Now, of course, in my irritated mindset, I stopped paying attention to the Rockruff who took advantage of the situation to let out a loud howl. That snapped my attention back to her and I saw her stalking toward me before she struck her paw against the sand, casting it into my eyes.

"Gah! Blasted sonuva--!" I yelled before pain coursed through my body yet again as I was struck by what felt like a rock. It must've been a super effective attack as it reminded me of the pain I felt when Uly blasted me earlier, only it was a lot more intense seeing as how Quartz wasn't holding anything back.

"Derry, I don't think this was a good idea to put Alloy against Quartz." I heard Night say softly. "The way things are going, he's likely to get seriously injured."

Shame prickled across my skin under my fur as I looked up and saw Night's worried visage and Derry's disappointed and saddened gaze. Magnalu even looked surprised, but Uly simply stared at me with a focused look, as if he was challenging me to give up. We locked eyes for a moment and something just seemed to click in my brain as a flood of determination flooded my veins.

I turned my gaze to Quartz, who was getting ready to pounce with her fangs crackling with electricity. I staggered back to my feet and shot her a glare, feeling something different this time in my stare. The name 'Leer' passed through my mind as I did so and it seemed like she had become a little more frail despite looking stronger than earlier. Of course, she recovered quickly and pounced, but I was prepared this time. I would NOT lose to this stupid, bratty pooch. Not when it seemed like everyone was rooting for me. I jumped to the side to dodge and then slammed my body back over to collide with her, causing a small yelp of surprise. As 'Tackle' ran through my brain, I noted the surprise factor over pain and figured that it wasn't very effective. Quartz retaliated with her own Tackle, sending me back to the ground.

"Exactly what I figured you would be like: pathetic." She spat as she slowly padded back toward me while I slowly worked my way back to my feet. I couldn't hold out much longer and we both knew it. "In fact, those last couple attacks just proved how pathetic you actually are."

Alright. Now I was starting to get upset. I used Leer again as I snarled in anger.

"I may not know anything about my situation and my past, or how to fight, or even how anything works around here," I began, baring my own teeth. "But that does not give you any freaking right to insult me and call me pathetic." As my anger rose with every word, I felt a spark on my back a split second before my flame nodules ignited. I was definitely feeling it now. Something in my body had triggered, and I could feel a surge of energy. I felt my eyes flash with an odd power and suddenly Quartz was catapulted backward and I saw her tense up.

I found myself back on my feet not a moment before 'Extrasensory' left my thoughts, and though I felt like I had just run a marathon - if my heavy breathing was anything to go by - I felt one last surge of energy. With that last hurrah, my body seemed to act on its own as I drew in as much air as I possibly could before quickly expelling it. Instead of bein just air though, it came out as a barrage of flame pellets. While a bunch missed and struck the dirt, poofing out in a cloud of dust, there were still a number that struck home and left the stunned Rockruff with scorch marks. I didn't need the voice in my mind to tell me what that move was. I knew that was Ember; there was absolutely no doubt.

After that, I was utterly spent. I dropped to the ground, breathing heavily. I must've not done a whole lot of damage with that Ember attack as I heard a loud snarl. Upon looking up, I saw a series of boulders flying at me, and as I braced for impact, two figures jumped in front of me and destroyed them before they even got close. I squinted and saw that Night and Derry, tired as they were, had intervened.

"What are you doing!?" Quartz demanded of them. "He hadn't tapped out! The fight was still going!"

"No... You're wrong." Night panted, sagging as his leaves stopped glowing. "This fight was over several moves ago."

Derry lowered his paws as they faded from a silvery tinge before adding his take. "Once you started yelling at each other, it had gone too far. You're holding some sort of prejudice against him despite knowing nothing about him and you have since we met him."

While Derry and Night stood in between me and Quartz, Magnalu and Uly ran around and helped me to my feet and brought me to the side out of the pit. Uly fished around in one of his bags that he had brought before pulling out a couple round blue berries. He put them into my paws and motioned for me to eat them. I did so and found them to be rather tasty, but I also felt rejuvenated. My breathing evened out and I stood straight.

"Thanks Uly." I said quietly, earning a pat on my head. As I calmed down and the adrenaline faded, the flames on my back went out, but I wasn't in as much pain as I thought that I would be. The berries must have more healing properties than what I thought.

"I was really worried there Alloy." Magnalu said with a frown. "But you at least learned what Moves you can use!" I did feel a sense of accomplishment from that, but I did feel bad that everyone had to step in to stop the fight. I grunted in affirmation that I had heard him and watched as Night and Derry lead Quartz out of the pit. Uly dug out some more berries and gave them to the other three before beckoning Magnalu to join him in the ring. What happened during that sparring match, I didn't know as I sat down and closed my eyes. I must've conked out soon after that as next thing I knew I was shaken awake yet again.

"Uly and Magnalu are done sparring. It's time to leave." Night informed me as I yawned. "Everyone else is at the door."

I looked over to the door to see that everyone was indeed waiting on me and I got up and followed Night to the exit. I ducked my head in apology as we left the Gym. We had only been in there about an hour from what I could tell. The walk back to the center of town seemed awkward though, but at the bell tower everyone split up. Almost everyone anyways. I was looking down each path that the others went along, trying to figure out who to follow when Derry tapped me on the shoulder. He must've snuck behind me when I wasn't paying attention.

"Hey," Derry began, waiting until I turned to continue. "I'm sorry about putting you against Quartz. I had thought that her attitude toward you would simmer down, or that she could put her animosity aside."

I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it almost immediately after. The Emanation Pokémon just looked so despondent and melancholy that it was hard to believe that it was the same Pokémon as the hyperactive one that greeted me on the plains. I took a moment to think before answering.

"Honestly, I think that Quartz was in fact the best opponent for me." I said after a time. This earned me a frown from the other Pokémon before he suddenly picked me up and began carrying me down the path that Magnalu and Uly went down.

"I think you took too many blows to the head. She basically tried to kill you in there!"

"You misunderstand! I feel this way because of that very fact! Without that threat, I don't think that my survival instincts would have kicked in. I probably would've spent hours or days in there before something else triggered them. And I don't think that fighting any of the rest of you would have done me any good.

"That's not to say that the rest of you couldn't do it. I'm not trying to say that at all. Especially considering the way that you and Nightshade fought each other. I just needed the ferocity and pure anger that only Quartz could express over the raw energy that Ulysses and Magnalu would use, or the strategic nature of yours and Nightshade's style of fighting."

Derry remained quiet as I spoke, and he eventually put me down and pulled me into a hug. I could definitely feel the raw emotion in the embrace. Talk about suffocating one with emotion.

"Okay. I'll take your word for it." He said after a time. "But if at any point you join us for sparring again and you feel that you're in danger or can't find the energy to continue fighting, please make sure to tap out and not push yourself beyond your limits."

I nodded in agreement, knowing that his words were true. I had pushed myself well beyond my capabilities for one that had just woken up not too long ago with no knowledge of what I could do to defend myself. I needed to work up to full on fighting. After seeing my agreement, Derritus beckoned me to follow him into the next building on our left. It didn't seem all too special, but inside it was a full on clinic.

A number of Pokémon bustled around, from Chansey and Blissey to Gardevoir and Audino. They were tending to other various Pokémon; all of whom were injured in some way, shape, or form. Derry and I wove our way through the throng and sat on a couple empty stools while we waited to be tended to. It was concerning to see so many Pokémon here, but with the various jobs of the Exploration Teams, it was also understandable. Though I couldn't believe that everyone was in one of those Teams.

As we waited, Derry and I chatted a little. I learned that he used to be rather withdrawn until he ran away from his home and came to Junction Village, or rather, met Nightshade not too long after coming here. They basically had been polar opposites of each other until Night evolved when trying to protect him from an Outlaw after he had been injured on a mission. It just took me aback on what sort of bond that the two leaders had, and it was quite interesting on how just one encounter can completely change one's character.

After waiting about thirty minutes or so, we were finally seen by one of the clinic assistants. It was a Chimecho that had come around. He took a look at us and used Heal Pulse, letting the soft pulse rejuvenate us before sending us off with a fare-thee-well chime and moving on. As we left, Derry dropped some coins into a barrel in the center of the clinic. Once outside, he stretched and let out a huge breath of air.

"Hoo, man! I hate having to wait in there!" He exclaimed. "The tense atmosphere is waaaaay too overbearing!"

I nodded at this in simple agreement, but it was easily understandable. We walked back to the bell tower where everyone was waiting on us. Uly just waved while Magnalu made a quip about us being slower than Slowpoke, but we soon got moving down the initial road we arrived on heading in the direction of the base. The others launched into conversation amongst each other, Ulysses basically playing charades or something with all of the gestures that he was making, while I walked along silently, just taking in all of the sights. Night and Derry were discussing Exploration Team Leader stuff from what it sounded like. Something to do with Outlaws and Rescues i think. Magnalu, Quartz, and Uly were chatting about the different things in the city. From that three-way conversation, or rather two-way seeing as how I couldn't understand the gestures, Magnalu had gone to a grocer's and had seen some things that he found funny, and Quartz went to a Storehouse. I had to listen closely to that one cause I did a double take thinking that I had heard a very different word. Of course I passed it off by faking a sneeze so that I didn't get mauled or hosed down for eavesdropping.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking, we finally arrived back at the base. Surprisingly, there were several groups of Pokémon in there when we arrived. Some were by the pool watching some kids play on the jungle gyms, some were by the boards leafing through what was posted, and others were just standing around and chatting. Nightshade announced that we were all back before everyone split and went to different sections. Uly and Magnalu went over to the pool area where they both started to play with the children. Night and Derry went to the board and started rearranging what was on the boards. Then Quartz went back into the remaining door that I hadn't gone through yet. I figured it was a storeroom or something.

That just left me standing there looking lost. As much as I wanted to go and sleep, despite feeling a lot better after being hit with that Heal Pulse, I really kinda felt that I should do something. Now I know that they said that today was a day off from Missions, and I probably shouldn't even be thinking about doing this, but maybe I should try one and return the favor a little bit. I bet if I asked, Night or Derry would take me on one with one of the others. With that in mind, I made my way over to the boards. Time to test myself...with something easy of course.


End file.
